SAD asks Amarinder to educate Jakhar on Sikh ethics and governance

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to educate Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sikh religious ethics and governance as Jakhar had fallen flat on his face while trying to espouse on both in his eagerness to please his bosses.

In a statement here, SAD MP and spokesman Prem Singh Chandumajra said it was strange that Jakhar had like an uninitiated recruit tried to question the Sikh credentials of SAD while choosing to speak on an administrative lapse by the Amritsar Development Authority (ADA).“Instead of questioning the ADA and demanding why it had not checked display of liquor advertisements on giant screens of the heritage street adjoining the Darbar Sahab after the Congress government took over the reins of the state, Jakhar started claiming that the SAD had not even spared the Harmandar Sahab. Surely Jakhar must know that it is his party and his former PM Indira Gandhi which did not spare the Harmandar Sahab by attacking it with tanks. How can he be so ignorant about Sikh history?”, the Akali leader asked.

Mr Chandumajra said this was not all. Apparently Jakhar even distorted facts to state the entire advertising contract had been given to a private company for a sum of Rs five lakh per year. “This is not true. The contract is for Rs 50 per annul. While Rs 5 lakh is given to ADA, Rs 45 lakh is given to the municipal corporation. Jakhar should immediately apologies for resorting to lies and deceit on such a sensitive matter”, the Mp added. The Akali Mp said it also appeared that the Punjab Congress president did not know what he was writing. “Jakhar claims in the press release that the rules of the tender stated that concessionaire would adhere to advertising rules of ADA, Urban Art Commission and statutory authorities”.

He said since there had been no transgression of the contract during SAD-BJP rule, it meant that the concessionaire was following the norms earlier. “It is clear that liquor advertisements have started appearing on the screens only after the Congress government came into power. But Jakhar has been unable to grasp this simple fact and is trying to politicise the issue little realizing the fault lies in his own government”. Asking Capt Amarinder to rein in the inexperienced PPCC chief, the senior Akali leader said Jakhar should be instructed not to comment on sensitive issues without first checking the veracity of his claims thoroughly.

“Such kind of immature behavior has made the entire Punjab Congress an object of ridicule. It has also hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs who know that it was the Congress government which failed to monitor the content being shown in the heritage walk and instead of admitting this fault tried to put the blame on the previous SAD- BJP government”, he added.